Author Archives: Karie Villanueva

Sugar Yogurt (Superstition)

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Undergraduate Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/10/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

“In india, parents have been feeding their children a mixture of yogurt and sugar before going to an exam or an interview. It is believed that this brings good look before an important event. No one knows where this originated from, but almost every household takes part in this practice.”

My informant told me this superstition before one of our Biochemistry midterms. He indicated that the origin of the superstition is unknown, but he believes it came from some group of super frantic mothers who want their children to succeed in school. The informant used to perform it as a child to please his mother despite the fact that he didn’t believe in the superstition himself. Apparently, in Indian culture, yogurt is an integral staple of most Indian cuisine, and it is said to give good luck the morning of a big exam or interview when it is eaten with sugar. To note, he claimed that he’s actually done worst when performing it, because he often felt hungrier, and experienced the feeling of “sugar crash” and hunger pangs.

I find this to be an interesting premise, because I tend to eat yogurt with sugary additives in the morning myself. But I believe there could be more attributed to the superstition rather than luck. For instance, parents and dietitians often emphasize that eating breakfast in the morning is essential to provide us with the appropriate amount of energy to sustain our activities. The use of this superstition can help people build healthy habits, such as eating breakfast in the morning. It can also be seen as pairing a good thing with a stressful event. Before a stressful event, such as an exam or an interview, it can be said that much of our tension could be somewhat alleviated by indulging in something positive (e.g. delicious sugary foods). Therefore, these types of folk beliefs and/or superstitions can be institutionalized in domestic households as a form of preparative ritual.

Two Goats Crossing the Bridge

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 21
Occupation: Undergraduate Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/3/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin and Spanish

“This is my translated version. Again, it is usually spoken in Mandarin, but I cannot seem to remember the exact words. So the story goes, there’s a black and white goat on opposite sides of a river. They both want to get to the other side; however, there is only one bridge that is wide enough to fit only one goat at a time. At this point, there’s two ways the story could go. In the first way, both goats try to attempt to cross the bridge at the same time, then because the bridge is too small both goats end up falling into the river and dying. In the second way, the white goat realizes that in order to cross, it will have to let the black goat cross first. This way, both goats make it to the other side safely.

The informant is a student at USC who is majoring in Biology and Psychology and planning to enter medical school in the Fall of 2012. We’ve shared a number of science course together and we often meet on a number of occasions to talk about school and life issues A big part of her driving force has been the morals she was taught as a little girl. Being part of a Chinese school during her early childhood has allowed her to understand the customs and beliefs that are unique to that culture. She informed me that a number of the tales that she was taught at Chinese school were performed for the purpose of teaching lifelong messages that could apply to numerous situations, one of them being about two goats which cross a bridge. The tale was meant to portray that in the instance of conflict between two individuals, the one who yields to the other is indicative of the better person.

One restriction is that the informant could not recite the proverb/saying in Mandarin, because she could not remember. The informant provided a translated version in English.

Like most folk tales (a.k.a marchen), there appears to be some pedagogical aspect to “Two Goats Crossing the Bridge.” I believe this particular tale follows the principle to “think before we act.” Our parents often tell us to think before we act, so that we don’t act solely on our emotions which can lead us to make haste decisions that are sometimes irrational. Humans have the ability to problem solve, which makes humans unique to most non-human organisms. And it is by these means that we are able to decide which situation is best in the event that we are confronted with problems (or life-and-death scenarios). Also, the use of coat color (white and black) seems to distinguish the two goats based on the yin and yang concept. The white goat in this instance can be perceived as the “good” or the most rational entity, which utilizes the ability to rationalize to its advantage in order to produce the better outcome.

Drawing Legs on a Snake

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 21
Occupation: Undergraduate Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 03/29/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin and Spanish

“This is translated by me and is usually in Chinese. Basically, there is this contest for who can draw the best snake. One guy finishes really quickly and draws a beautiful snake. The others are still working on their snake. He’s bored, so he decides to add legs to his snake to embellish it. Afterwards, when they decide to choose on a winner, his is not chosen, because even though he probably would have won if he didn’t add legs to the snake, they say that because he drew legs onto his snake, it is no longer a snake anymore. Moral of the story is that sometimes doing too much or embellishing…etcetera, can be detrimental. More is not always better.”

The informant is a student at USC who is majoring in Biology and Psychology and planning to enter medical school in the Fall of 2012. A big part of her driving force has been the morals she was taught as a little girl. Being part of a Chinese school during her early childhood has allowed her to understand the customs and beliefs that are unique to that culture. She indicated that she constantly refers to this proverb about drawing legs on snake when she notices that she is doing excessive work to perform a task (e.g studying for a test). In her perspective, the proverb that was provided is meant to illustrate that “sometimes doing too much work or extra work is bad.”

One restriction is that the informant could not recite the proverb/saying in Mandarin, because she could not remember how it was exactly recited. The informant provided a translated version in English.

The Chinese proverb that the informant provided seems to follow the principle, “other things being equal, a simpler explanation is better than a more complex one.” (Occam’s Razor) It seems that most people find it fulfilling to be able to do things in the most complex way in order to establish their status in society, which can often complicate things. For instance, the latter situation could be observed in college writing. When composing a paper, many students would find that complicating the speech in which they write may help validate how much they know. However, in most instances, what achieves the better outcome runs contrary to this notion. That is, explaining things in the most simplest of ways can actually convey meaning more effectively. Going back to the writing example, this can be achieved by using basic writing conventions and active speech.

The Frog and the Well

Nationality: Taiwanese
Age: 21
Occupation: Undergraduate Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 3/29/12
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin and Spanish

“This is my translation of the tale, which is normally told in Chinese. In the story, there is a frog who has lived its whole life in this one well. It sees a little piece of the sky everyday and thinks that it knows everything about the world. One day, a human lifts it out of the well and the frog is shocked by the world around it. All of its life, it thought that the sky above was all there was to the world. It was naive. Now that it has been exposed to the world, it realizes how naive it was.”

The informant is a student at USC, who is double majoring in Biology and Psychology and planning to enter medical school in the Fall of 2012. We’ve shared a number of science courses together, and we often meet on a number of occasions to talk about school and life issues. A big part of her driving force has stemmed from the morals she’s been taught as a little girl. Being part of a Chinese school during her early childhood has allowed her to understand the customs and beliefs that are unique to that culture. She learned to speak the Mandarin language as well as morals, which can apply to one’s life at any point in time, whether it be when advancing through college or overcoming adversities. She informed me that she learned “The Frog and the Well” story during third grade from her Chinese school teacher. It really meant a lot to her, because it applied to numerous events of her life. The informant felt that the frog resembled herself in a way before she entered college. She told me that she was born and raised in a really small town for eighteen years. Thereafter, she moved to Los Angeles, where she seemed to learn much more about the world and herself.

One restriction is that the informant could not recite the tale in Mandarin, because she could not remember exactly how it is performed. Therefore, the informant provided a translated version in English.

Not only does this piece apply to college, but it is relevant to most instances that we experience throughout our lifetimes. This folk piece shows some multiplicity in variation as we look at other cultures who use similar moral tales for the purpose of pedagogy. The fact that there are variations to this piece demonstrates that most ethnic groups emphasize the importance of instilling a similar morale upon the members of there respective culture. It delineates between reality and fantasy. For example, children are typically sheltered by their parents from the evils and hardships that occur as a result of independence. When children grow up and enter college, they enter a liminal phase between being sheltered as a dependent and reality where they are bound to experience hardships that comes with adulthood and independence.

Vardavar-Armenian Water Festival

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 26
Occupation: Research Technician/COPE Health Manager
Residence: Van Nuys, CA
Performance Date: 3/20/12
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: English and Russian

“Vardavar is born from the word “vard” which means rose in Armenian. All night long the day of Vardavar, young girls of town go out to the field to collect roses. The petals are then soaked in water overnight in water collected from seven mines only to be used to drench the young men of town the next morning. The buckets are then used by the young men to hide talismans in and the lucky girl who selects the talisman is destined to marry the original owner. Currently, a Christian Tradition, it is celebrated on the last day of the year according to the old Armenian calendar. The roots date far back into the Armenian pagan times and are associated with multiple songs written on this beautiful celebration of love, fertility and purity.

In modern times, anyone walking the streets of Armenia cannot expect to remain dry. While being accepted as a fun festival, people also see the togetherness component of the celebration as the day is filled with laughter by people of all ages.”

Informant: “To me, the idea of the tradition is to eliminate anger and promote love. I have enjoyed it throughout my childhood and now, because it has brought me close with people and produced unlimited amount of joy.”

The informant was born and raised in Armenia and moved to the United States when she was about fifteen years old. She told me that not only was it a complete culture shock for her, but the city where she was living lacked the sense of community that was present in neighborhoods of Armenia. In the summertime, all people, old and young, bathe each other in water. She claimed “it is the most interesting and fun time during the summer for everyone of Armenian culture and brings strangers together for fun, and it is creative way to get back at the person you hate and bond with the people you don’t know.”

The tradition traces back to the goddess of love, Astghik, who was showered with rose petals and water. To resemble this treat, fourteen weeks after Easter, the people would do the same on a hot summer day. All rules of social etiquette are thrown out the window and random strangers are given permission by some arbitrary force to water one another in the streets. The tradition has been accepted and celebrated among Armenians since pagan times; thus, the exact date of the tradition is not known. All Armenians are exposed to it at a very young age, and there is not a single year that it is not being celebrated.

Naturally, the tale is recited in Armenian; however, the informant did not provide it in the original language in which it is recited. She was able to provide a translated version.

The Vardavar-Armenian Water festival uses a folk tale to establish a custom that has been ritualized by the Armenian community for a number of years. Because the Armenian population is spread out across the European map, this kind of festival can appear to unify the culture since the ritual is widespread. Alternatively, it can be seen as a tribute to the people of Armenia helping establish  the country and its people nationally and socially among different ethnic groups and cultures.

From another perspective, the festival can take form as a superstition. I heard from an additional source that the essence of the rituals is to embrace water that is considered to have some kind of curative and powerful effect. That is, it can be used to foretell the future, drive away the evil, and make women more fertile and ill people healthy again.